Guns save lives

[Dave B]

The following is an interview from Reason Magazine with John Lott. Please read.
http://reason.com/0001/fe.js.cold.html

"Analyzing 18 years of data for more than 3,000 counties, Lott found that violent crime drops significantly when states switch from discretionary permit policies, which give local officials the authority to determine who may carry a gun, to "shall issue" or "right-to-carry" laws, which require that permits be granted to everyone who meets certain objective criteria. That conclusion, first set forth in a 1997 paper that Lott co-authored with David Mustard, now an economist at the University of Georgia, heartened defenders of gun ownership and dismayed their opponents. Arguing that "shall issue" laws are beneficial, while other gun laws are ineffective at best, Lott quickly became one of the most widely cited--and reviled--scholars in the gun control debate."

db


[This message has been edited by Dave B (edited December 17, 1999).]

 

[Jeff Thomas]

Great interview.

Guns are used to 'terminate violence'. I first heard that on a show re: LEO's fighting crime. It is true for them, and it is true for honest citizens.

Less than 1% of firearms are used in violent crime. I'm sure that less than 1% of cars are involved in fatal accidents. We don't say cars are made only to kill, do we? Then why do anti-self defense zealots tell us guns are made only to kill? Guns are used to terminate violence.

Do we issue firearms to LEO's so they can kill? Hell no. We issue them to LEO's so that they can terminate violence.

This is not a complicated concept, unless, of course, you are unable to think because your emotions constantly cloud your judgement ...

Dave, thanks for posting that interview.

Regards from AZ